Cold Eyes
by KeepCalmFanFicExists
Summary: Bellatrix Black is a bit disappointed by the scene at King's Cross Station her first day at school. But who is that young stranger staring at the engine and why do his eyes seem so familiar to her? -slightly AU where Bellatrix and Tom Riddle attend school together. This is the first time they meet.


_A/N: Inspired by challenge 78 of the Bellatrix Lestrange: The Dark Lord's Most Faithful Forum. The theme was a one-shot focusing on one body part. I went for eyes since I have always found them the most fascinating, telling part of the human body, windows to the souls and so on. Sadly this challenge was posted on October 13 2013, before I joined the forum so that's not an official entry, more like a tribute to the forum and its members :)_

_A thank you to Ella is also in order, for the help. So thank you very much, dear :)_

_Enjoy._

Bellatrix hissed in annoyance. She had been dreaming of attending Hogwarts since her older cousins had been having animated talks about it during family visits; in other words, since she could remember herself. She craved going away from her tyrannical, uptight mother who never forgave her for not being a boy and from her two little sisters who whined all day. She wanted to be finally alone and free, to see what she could really do. And she was sure that would be a lot.

Only now, standing in a corner of Platform 9 3/4 having a full view of the families coming to see their children off, she had to admit her disappointment.

People were running around like headless chickens looking for trunks, familiars or, most alarmingly, their kids. Some new students seemed to be hanging to their mothers sobbing hard, second only to their mothers themselves who were sniffing shamelessly too.

Bellatrix shot a look at her own mother. Mrs. Black was a small, extremely pale and thin woman with white-blonde hair and colourless eyes. Perhaps her appearance gave an impression of calmness and kindness, but Bellatrix' back knew better. And now, with sick delight, she saw the disgust in her mother's gaze as she too observed all the Mudbloods taking away their pureblooded future.

Bellatrix sighed again. Once in a while, when the smoke retreated a bit, she could take a glimpse of other known families and their children: Uncle Orion and Aunt Walburga with Sirius being told off -yet again- close to the train, Rodolphus Lestrange's big smile addressed to her very near them and the blond heads of the Malfoys somewhere in the distance.

But most of the time, all she could see were grown men and women in funny, inappropriate clothes clutching ecstatic children while they themselves were watching the extravagant scene with bewilderment in their eyes.

She was about to make a sharp comment on how bewilderment was the only thing pure about them when she caught a glimpse of a young boy. She opened and closed her mouth several times until she decided she just wanted to focus on the odd new arrival and not on the Mudbloods.

The boy was very tall, but he was undoubtedly a first year. His bones were quite visible under the thin, worn shirt and pants that had obviously once belonged to someone else and the pale skin was stretched on is cheekbones. He was still quite handsome though, the contrast of the almost white skin with the jet black hair, how straight he stood despite being practically malnourished. But what attracted her attention were his eyes. They looked... familiar, very familiar. Only they were quite unusual, a dark cypress-green with slivers of silver. If she had known anyone with those eyes she would have remembered easily. And the boy was most definitely Muggleborn, the clothes and the starvation said so. There was not a chance she or her family and him would have crossed paths. Ever.

Still, she couldn't keep her mind away from thinking how familiar his eyes were, how used to that stare she felt.

Forgetting all about her sisters and mother and ignoring the Rosiers approaching them, Bellatrix advanced towards the boy. She stopped 15 feet away from him, only just realizing how creepy her action would seem to anyone paying attention.

The boy though, was only focusing on the Hogwarts Express, his gaze scanning every part of the gigantic crimson steam engine clinically, vivid interest well hidden in the dark green. But she could tell it was there. Quietly, without the slightest change in expression, he turned on his heel to examine the crowd just like Bellatrix had been doing a few minutes ago. His piercing stare roamed around the various people surrounding him, a bit more lazily than when examining the train.

She found herself knowing exactly how his elegant eyebrows would move according to how much the mother was crying and when the tiny wrinkle between his eyes would appear while the nearest owls threw a tantrum.

And then, the green-silver daggers found her too. For a split second their gazes met and an explosion hit her mind. Those eyes, so familiar, were unbending, unyielding, merciless. Cold. They were _her_ eyes. The cold eyes of a psychopath in hiding.

Raising an eyebrow and allowing a smirk to curl her lips, she averted her gaze from him. Suddenly everything seemed much more interesting.

_A/N: Please let me know what you think._


End file.
